Summary

With the help of an older reader, young children can take a first look at the world using these appealing social studies books. A friendly text and design present each country's landscape and describe in easy-to-understand language its main ethnic and cultural features. Full-color photos, simple sidebars, emergent-reading-level glossary, pronunciation guide, further reading list, and index complete the presentation.

Author Notes

Thomas Streissguth is an author who grew up in the Midwest. He worked in New York in magazines for four years and as a juvenile book editor in Minneapolis for six. He has published about 40 books of non-fiction: biographies, history, geography books, and the like. His title's include: Dracula, Cleopatra, Hoaxers and Hustlers, Jack London, and Vladmir Putin.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 2-4Country studies for the youngest readers. Each book opens with a map of the nation and contains two-page chapters on topics such as family, school, getting around, sports, and food. Unfortunately, there are so many illustrations, photographs, and sidebars on each spread that it is sometimes difficult to follow the text from one page to the next. In Argentina, there are contradictory sentences, including the claim that no ancestors of the modern-day Indians still live, as opposed to the statement that their great, great, great grandchildren live in the mountains. There is also a spelling error; one city is written as Bariloche and Barlioche. In an attempt to make the information relevant to readers, the language of both books is often condescending. For example, India opens with, "India takes up a lot of space on the continent...," which may be true, but does not describe its size in a way useful to students seeking information. There is no mention of the types of government or political leaders. The "True Book" series titles (Children's), although slightly more difficult, are still superior choices.Irene Symons, Queens Borough Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

SD_ILS:1090697

9781575051369

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